The Cup

by Alex Lukeman

  "What happened to him?"

  "Well, we'd been planning this trip to the Grand Canyon for a long time. We were getting ready to leave but something turned up and I couldn't make it. The night before he left, he had one of those dreams. The voice told him not to go alone, to stay home. When he told me about it, he laughed it off. The last thing he was going to do was cancel the trip of a lifetime."

  "So what happened?"

  "He was hiking a secondary trail that leads down from the rim to the bottom of the canyon. It's not used much. He slipped and that was all she wrote."

  "He should have listened to his dream," Ronnie said.

  "Yeah. I guess so."

  Monell didn't say anything after that. They got into the suburban. He drove them to a hangar and stopped by a blue Toyota Highlander with Turkish plates.

  "Here's your ride. I'm told it's in pretty good shape. Do any of you speak Turkish?"

  "I do," Selena said, "enough to get by."

  "You know about baksheesh?"

  "Of course."

  "Bribes go a long way here," Monell said. "You're going to leave the base by one of our lesser exits. There are guards posted there but it's been taken care of."

  He took out a fat envelope and handed it to Nick. It was full of Turkish Lira.

  "You'll need this. One lira is worth a little over thirty cents. Thirty-four, the last time I looked." He glanced at his watch. "Time for you to leave. Once you're off the base, you're on your own."

  "How about coming back?"

  "No problem there. Go to the main gate. You'll be on the list."

  They got into the Highlander. Monell led them to the gate in his suburban.

  "Keep your eyes open," he said. "There are a lot of angry assholes out there and some of them don't like Americans much."

  "We're used to it," Lamont said.

  Monell got into his Chevy and headed back onto the base. They stopped at the gate for a brief conversation with the guards and drove away. One of the guards went back into his shack, took out a cell phone and began talking.

  In Raqqa, Abdul Haddad had just returned from a public execution, the stoning of a woman accused of adultery. It was important that the leaders of the movement demonstrate support for the rules laid down by the Messenger. Haddad had cast the first stone.

  Haddad's intelligence network had been damaged by efforts to destroy the caliphate but it was still effective and widespread. Now one of his agents called him on the encrypted phone.

  "Yes."

  Haddad listened and asked a question. He ended the conversation as Nawabi came into his office.

  "The Americans are in Turkey," Haddad said. "They were seen at the airbase at Incirlik."

  "Are they still there?"

  "No, but they're being followed. They went east. The relic must still be in Turkey."

  "It can't be at Sumela," Nawabi said. "We searched thoroughly."

  "Take your men into Turkey and catch up with them. If they find the cup, take it and kill them. If they don't, kill them anyway."

  Map of Turkey Provided by the Central Intelligence Agency

  CHAPTER 35

  From Incirlik they got onto a highway marked E90 and headed east. The road was in good condition. Selena looks at the map and checked her GPS while Nick drove.

  "From Incirlik to Mor Gabriel is about four hundred miles. The roads look good. It shouldn't take more than seven or eight hours, but the monastery will be closed by the time we get there. We can stop in Midyat overnight. That's nearby."

  "Wake me when it's time for lunch," Lamont said.

  He settled back against the seat and pulled a cap down over his eyes. In a minute he was asleep. It was something you learned in the service, how to sleep anywhere, anytime you could.

  Ronnie sat watching the Turkish countryside slide by. They pass through villages but mostly it was farmland dominated by fields of wheat, now in winter mode. Groves of fruit or nut trees broke up the flat monotony of the fields. Turkey wasn't quite a Third World country but it wasn't Kansas either. This was an ancient land, farmed for thousands of years. Every town they passed featured the tall, needle shaped tower of at least one mosque.

  "Those towers look like missiles," Ronnie said. "Where that guy does his thing five times a day."

  "The muezzein," Selena said.

  "Yeah, him. Hey, Nick, I've been thinking about that dream."

  "What about it?"

  "When you hear a voice like that? It's a good idea to pay attention to it."

  "Very funny, Ronnie."

  "No, I'm serious. The question is, what are you supposed to pay attention to?"

  "I haven't a clue."

  Selena said, "That's what Count Mercurio said to Elizabeth: 'pay attention.' He was talking about why the Grail is important."

  "It's important because ISIS can make trouble if they get their hands on it," Nick said.

  "Do you really think that's the only reason? What about the legends? The Grail is a sacred object. It symbolizes healing through Spirit and the mystery of Christianity."

  "Mmm."

  "What about that manuscript we found, the Book of Simon?"

  "It could be fake, something made up to attract pilgrims. I know you think it's real but it hasn't been tested to verify the age."

  "Don't you feel any excitement about it at all?"

  "Some. I never thought I'd be looking for the Grail for real. I read all the King Arthur stories when I was a kid."

  "You were a kid?" Ronnie asked. "I thought you hatched out of an egg at Quantico."

  Nick ignored him. "I used to imagine wearing shining armor and carrying a magic sword like Excalibur. I wanted to be Galahad, fighting monsters and seeking the cup that would heal the King."

  "And the land," Selena said. "Remember? The land was blighted and dying. Arthur was wounded in the groin and the only thing that could heal him and the land was the Grail."

  "Lots of symbolism there," Lamont said. "Sounds almost X-rated."

  "Sex always makes for a good hook in a story," Ronnie said. "Don't forget Guinevere and Lancelot."

  "Sex, betrayal, revenge and heroic deeds," Nick said, "not to mention Excalibur and the Lady of the Lake. It's a soap opera."

  "Everything revolves around the Grail," Selena said. "Without the Grail, there's nothing to hold the story together. I think that's what you're supposed to pay attention to."

  "The Grail? I thought that's what I was doing. Why we're here."

  "I don't mean the physical cup. It's what it symbolizes that's important."

  "Redemption?"

  "And healing. Just like in the myth."

  Halfway through the drive, Nick handed the wheel over to Ronnie. He moved to the back and closed his eyes, listening to the sound of the tires on the road and the drone of the engine. He fell asleep and hoped he wouldn't dream.

  CHAPTER 36

  It was dark when they reached Midyat. The monastery was about a half hour away. Selena used the GPS to guide them to a hotel, where Nick reserved rooms for two nights. Maybe they'd go back to Incirlik tomorrow, maybe not.

  Nick's dreams were filled with dark shadows and flashes of light. The next morning they had breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

  Selena looked at the menu. It was in Turkish.

  "Shall I order for all of us?"

  "Go for it. Just so long as it tastes good and it's hot," Lamont said.

  "Coffee," Nick said.

  Selena surprised the waiter when she ordered in Turkish. Soon after, a steaming pot of black coffee appeared. Not long after that the waiter brought a large tray with several platters and a basket heaped with bread.

  Ronnie looked down at a round metal dish in front of him. Steam drifted from the surface.

  "What's this?"

  "Menemem," Selena said. "It's a combination of eggs, tomatoes, spices and peppers. Probably has some onions, garlic and oregano. It's a common dish here for breakfast. Try it."

  Ronnie tasted it. "Not bad. L
ike an omelette. Or a pizza without the crust."

  "How can you have pizza without crust?" Lamont said.

  "I didn't say it was a pizza, I said it was like a pizza, only without the crust."

  "There's no pepperoni either."

  "Pizzas don't always have pepperoni."

  "Mine do. Better that way."

  After that conversation the table was quiet except for the sounds of eating. By the time they left the hotel it had started to rain, a cold drizzle falling from a featureless, gray sky.

  They got into the Toyota. Nick started the car and turned on the heater.

  "What's the plan?" Ronnie asked.

  "First we get gas. I saw a station last night, when we came in. Then we head to the monastery."

  "And?"

  Nick pulled out of the parking lot.

  "I don't have a specific plan. We have to take it one step at a time. They give tours. We'll do a little recon first. I'm hoping something will give us an opening to ask about the Grail."

  "You expect them to tell you they've got it?"

  "Not at first. We're going to have to convince them that the secret is out and the bad guys are coming after it."

  "How will they know we're not the bad guys?" Lamont asked.

  "Selena will handle it," Nick said.

  "I will?"

  "You speak the language. You know the history. You're our best bet."

  "What am I supposed to tell them?"

  "You'll think of something."

  "Even if the Grail was here, it could have been stolen or lost or moved."

  "You can ask them about it. After you convince them we're on the side of the angels."

  CHAPTER 37

  The monastery was a sprawling complex of stone buildings on a high plateau. From the highway they followed a drive lined with trees to a large, paved parking lot. There were a dozen cars in the lot, including a black Mercedes with a uniformed driver waiting inside the car. He glanced over at them and went back to reading a newspaper.

  The rain had stopped. They got out of the car and walked toward a set of broad, stone steps leading up to the entrance. Two tall bell towers topped with the Syriac cross rose over the buildings. Everything was made of sand-colored stone, perfectly cut and fitted. The motif of the diamond cross was everywhere you looked, set on balustrades as finials and carved into the walls.

  "This is something," Lamont said. "Place looks like a fortress. That's a hell of a lot of stone."

  "The monastery has been here for more than sixteen hundred years," Selena said. "They've had a lot of time to work on it."

  "Let's see if anyone's home," Nick said.

  They climbed past two crosses flanking the steps and stepped onto a flat stone terrace in front of the entrance. The door opened as they approached. A monk waited to greet them.

  A full beard streaked with gray reached halfway down his chest. He wore a robe of midnight blue that was almost black, with a tight hood that covered his hair. It was bordered with white and divided in the middle by a white line. The top of the hood bore a lighter field of blue stitched with a dozen white Syriac crosses.

  Nick guessed his age at around sixty. His face appeared relaxed. He looked as though he spent a lot of time smiling. He was shorter than Nick, about Ronnie's height.

  The monk stood to the side and gestured for them to come in.

  "Welcome," he said. "I'm Brother Jacob. Please, enter. Your friend is waiting for you."

  "What friend?" Nick asked.

  "This way," the monk said.

  He led them down a long arched colonnade and through three arched doorways. As they moved deeper into the complex, the look of the passage changed. They were coming to the oldest part of the monastery, part of the original building.

  They entered a chapel with an elaborate altar set in an alcove at one end. The wall behind the altar was decorated with a mosaic design of the Syriac cross. Mosaic grapevines bearing clusters of grapes climbed the edges of the alcove.

  Count Mercurio was waiting for them.

  "Hello, Mister Carter."

  "What are you doing here, Count?"

  "The same as you, looking for the Grail."

  "Count Mercurio has been telling me about your quest," Brother Jacob said. "It is most admirable, but I am sorry to disappoint you. What you are looking for is not here."

  "I mean no disrespect, Brother, but it's a little hard for me to just take your word for it. We know the Grail was brought here after it left Italy."

  "Yes, your friend has explained it to me. The tiles told a true story. The monk on the tile was Brother Gabriel. He was one of the first to live here, one of the builders. It was wonderful for me to see a picture of him."

  "Then the Grail was here? You admit it?"

  "We have nothing to hide. If it were still here perhaps I would not be so forthcoming with you, but it was taken to Rhodes centuries ago."

  "Rhodes? Why Rhodes?"

  "Are you familiar with the history of our monastery?"

  "No."

  "There is a long history of conflict here with Islam."

  "That figures," Ronnie said.

  The monk continued. "Have you heard of Tamerlane?"

  "The last Mongol conqueror," Selena said. "He wanted to re-create the Empire of Genghis Khan."

  "That is the man," Jacob said. "Timur the Lame. He called himself the 'Sword of Islam.' In 1401 he attacked this monastery. The remains of the monks he murdered are buried in caves below the chapel floor where we stand."

  "What does that have to do with the Grail?" Nick asked.

  "My predecessors knew what was likely to happen. It was decided to move the Grail to a place of safety. It was taken to Rhodes and placed under the protection of the Knights Hospitallers."

  "So your order is no longer responsible for its protection?"

  "That is correct."

  Up until now Mercurio had been silent, listening to the conversation. Now he interrupted.

  "Sulemein the Magnificent attacked Rhodes in the sixteenth century and defeated the Knights Hospitallers. This isn't good news, Brother Jacob."

  "Were they all killed?" Lamont said.

  "The survivors were allowed to leave. They went to Sicily. After that, to Malta."

  "The Knights would never allow the Grail to fall into the hands of Sulemein," Selena said. "They would have taken it with them."

  "If they took it with them, it would have been on Malta when Sulemein laid siege to the island," Mercurio said. "He was trying to gain control of the Mediterranean. Malta was a key strategic location."

  "Who won that one?" Ronnie asked.

  "The Hospitallers. It's one of the great victories against Islam," Mercurio said. "At the time it must have seemed hopeless. Sulemein had overwhelming superiority of numbers."

  "Then the Grail could be on Malta," Nick said.

  "Unless it was moved again," Selena said.

  "It's enough to give you a headache," Nick said.

  "You didn't think finding the Grail was going to be easy, did you?" Mercurio asked.

  CHAPTER 38

  One of Haddad’s men had been reporting back to him. Haddad had many hidden cells in Turkey. One of them was in Osmaniye, on the road to Mor Gabriel, led by a man named Kamal. Haddad instructed him to intercept and follow the Americans.

  Kamal had a good description of the car Nick and the others were using. Four foreigners in a blue Toyota were hard to miss. He spotted them as they came through the outskirts of the city.

  Asif Nawabi caught up with the cell in Midyat. There were three men, all dedicated to the caliphate and the strict interpretation of the Prophet's teachings.

  Kamal was the oldest. His family had been killed during the battle for Falluja. The death of his wife and four children under the bombs of the Americans had added fuel to a fire of hatred for the West that had been burning long before the invasion.

  Omar saw from one eye. The other had been sacrificed to Assad's artillery in Syria. He was a t
ruly ugly man, singularly unattractive to women, but ISIS had changed that. Women were forced to satisfy the needs of the fighters for the caliphate. His new wife was mostly satisfactory. He'd only had to beat her a few times to make her understand. He was grateful for having been given a place in society. The caliphate valued rage and Omar was considered a prized asset.

  Rafa was barely out of adolescence. His name meant "happy" in Arabic, but happiness was something he'd never known. The closest thing to it was his feeling of pride and purpose when he saw the black flag of ISIS flying in the desert wind. Happiness would come in paradise. For now, doing the will of Allah was enough. No one questioned Rafa's courage or dedication, but he was young and inexperienced. He tended to act on impulse, without thought. Kamal thought that one day it would get him killed.

  They'd followed the Americans to the monastery. Now Nawabi stood with the others in the passage outside the chapel where Nick was talking with Brother Jacob. Each was armed with an AK-47, as familiar to each man as his name. Nawabi gestured with his hand and they stepped into the chapel.

  The Americans and a monk and an older man were at the other end of the room, near the altar. Between them and Nawabi were a dozen rows of wooden pews.

  Nick saw them enter and yelled a warning. He reached for his pistol.

  Rafa raised his rifle.

  "Wait," Kamal said, too late.

  "No," Mercurio shouted.

  He stepped in front of Selena just as Rafa fired. The bullets hurled him to the side. Blood spattered over Selena. She drew her pistol and shot Rafa and ducked behind a pew. Bullets streaked over her head, shattering the stone cross on the altar.

  Brother Jacob stood frozen in shock until a burst from Nawabi sent him stumbling sideways. The monk grabbed at the heavy cloth on the altar, pulling it with him as he fell. Everything on the altar crashed to the floor. The patterned cloth drifted down over his face and covered him.

  Ronnie and Lamont and Nick and Selena fired from behind the cover of the heavy pews, outgunned. Rounds from the ISIS guns slammed into the thick wooden pews. The air filled with flying splinters, sharp as darts. The chapel echoed with the roar of the guns and the whine of ricochets from the stone walls. A haze of burnt powder began to fill the room.